Hi everyone,
I guess I decided to spill my anniversary trip into Sunday… because I was lazy and didn’t get much done that I can share with you…
I was thinking about Nyssa and how she came to live with me and was so disappointed that I couldn’t find the poem that I had written so many years ago when I was looking for my very own doll. You see, by the time I discovered and wanted her so badly, she had already been up for pre-order and the dolls were already sold out. There were only 84 fair human Nyssa dolls made worldwide and I was just out of luck.
But that didn’t stop me…I joined a doll forum just so I could learn more about her and “maybe” find one that someone was selling… although it never happened. I wrote this goofy little poem, (like I’ve done on her before) and thought it was long gone… but I was scrolling through some pictures the other night and I ran across all these files that appeared to be empty. They did say Kaye Wiggs poem, Letter to Kaye, Letter from Kaye underneath them though. I tried opening them but it was in some kind of code or html… and it was just a bunch of boxes and circles and dots and squiggly lines. I tried opening it with Word, and in Documents and finally I opened it some kind of format that I didn’t know of, and there was my poem… with a bunch of symbols above and below it. I very carefully copied and pasted it to an email and sent it to myself. So I’d like to tell you again, the story about my Nyssa and I’ve edited my post to include that poem I found.
This post was written on January 27, 2017…
Once upon a time, back in January/February 2010, a ball jointed doll named Nyssa (sounds like “miss uh”) was making her debut. She was made by Australian Doll sculptor and artist extraordinaire, Kaye Wiggs. I had never heard of ball jointed dolls that could have their eyes and wigs changed and had bendable arms and legs and wrists and were such fun to pose. Well one day, I was “surfing” the internet and ran across this doll face that arrested me. This is the face that started it all…
Those 2 pictures were Nyssa’s “pre-order” pictures. The fair skinned version was a limited edition of 84 dolls (I checked and it was 84, not 87 as I had thought) worldwide and I wanted her but it was impossible to find one. NO ONE was selling their dolls but occasionally you’d see one on a doll forum going sky high. The pre-order had come and gone and now it was August when I was first seeing her.
I began to pine away for her… I mean really pine away! (I know… it sounds silly, but I did) I thought about her constantly and was, obviously what you’d call obsessed! I wanted her SO much but there wasn’t any way I was ever going to own one. I joined a doll forum called the Resin Cafe to learn more about Nyssa and other Kaye Wiggs dolls. If I couldn’t have her, at least I could enjoy the pictures others posted of their dolls.
After a while on the forum, I decided to write a poem and post it. I wish I could remember the goofy little poem I wrote but it was just about how much I would love to own a Nyssa doll and make clothes for her.
(Now, I’ll insert right HERE the poem I found that I had written when I was searching for a Nyssa doll…)
I’d really love a Nyssa doll, fair human or fair elf
She’d be my latest model as I sew for them myself
Perhaps you’re blessed with more than one or need to let one go
I missed her back with she came out, and REALLY love her so
Here eyes and wig are not a must, just a body that’s nice and clean
You can’t imagine how thrilled I’d be…You’d probably hear me scream!!
Perhaps we can work out a deal together…part money plus clothes divine
You see I sew for so many dolls, but for Nyssa alone I pine!
(See, I was doing goofy poems long before I started writing this blog!)
Okay, so here’s the rest of that post…
Well…right after I posted my poem, someone answered my comment and said they had a Nyssa doll they would sell me for $1300. My heart did a flip flop but I didn’t have that much money. I had been saving but not quite there yet! She said it was okay and she’d take the money I did have and I could send her the rest later. We were warned pretty often on the doll forums to watch out for scammers who said they had dolls but really didn’t. They would post pictures over and over and get people’s money “over and over.” I had always been told when purchasing an expensive doll from someone online to have them place a piece of paper on the dolls chest with the sellers name and what the date was that day and then take a picture for you to see. It was just a way to prove that they had the doll in their possession. This lady sort of balked at that and said she had the doll packed away and had people working on her house and didn’t have time to do that, but she assured me she had the doll. I thought about it for a day and got back with her again. I asked her again if she would write her name and the date on a piece of paper. She got really agitated at me and said she had workers who had to be paid and did I want the doll or not.
Well… anyone besides me sensing a red flag? I went back on The Resin Cafe doll forum and commented about what had happened. It turns out she had just registered as a member on The Resin Cafe the day I posted my poem. I thought maybe she was one of those scammers we had been warned about, so I decided to send a personal message to Kaye Wiggs herself and let her know there might possibly be someone on the forum who was trying to scam doll people. Kaye answered me back and decided it sounded pretty fishy to her so she had the person removed from the doll forum. She thanked me for letting her know and I was heartbroken, but back to waiting for my dream Nyssa.
A short time later I received a personal message from Kaye. She thanked me again and then said, “So what was the doll that you were looking for… Fair Nyssa or Tan Nyssa?” I answered her back, “I wanted the woman’s fair skinned Nyssa doll so much…I’m so disappointed.” Then she emailed me again and said, “Well, I think I might be able to help you out….I have a couple of my own personal Nyssa dolls and I think I can part with one if you’d like.” IF I’D LIKE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She said she could sell me one for $900 and would send me a paypal request for money. That was exactly what I had saved up! I know it’s a lot of money, but she was one of those dolls I was just smitten with down in my soul. It happened very quickly after that… I paid and she sent the doll from Australia. She’s been with me ever since and is very special! I will make her some more dresses this year…I promise Nyssa! :o)
So that’s how I ended up with my Nyssa… right from the artist herself. Nyssa has been one of my favorite dolls and I just love her to pieces…
That story is one of my favorites… doll artists and doll owners are the kindest people!
I’ll see you tomorrow with something about sewing!
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful story, Jeanne, and I’m so glad you were able to find that poem, too. Maybe someday you’ll be able to figure out how to open the rest of those files so you can copy your and Kaye’s emails to each other!
I know how you feel–I felt like that when I saw my first Little Darling, too! I finally ordered a custom one (painted by Dianna) and then, because I was getting anxious, I ordered another one from Geri! Actually that one came first, as it happened.
And, of course, since then I’ve added five more, plus three Boneka dolls plus a Ruby Red Fashion Friend!! I keep thinking this will be it, but….never say never!! LOL
I remember that Nyssa originally came from Kaye Wiggs’ personal collection. You gave us a Nyssa slide show. Did you email a copy to Kaye? If not, it’s time. Include this column.
What a great story! The dollar amounts … holy cow! Happy that you got your dream doll at last. ♥️
What an interesting story. I’m glad that you got the Nyssa doll after all that searching. I’m glad you had the knowledge and insight about the scammers too. That’d be a lot of money to lose.
What a treat though, to get a Nyssa straight from Kaye Wiggs. Someone was watching out for you! What a wonderful story.
Some things are just meant to be. How wonderful that you were able to fulfill your dream. You do have a way of getting dolls from the creators themselves. I have two Little Darlings, one from Geri Uribe and one from Magalie – and another one on the way this year from Magalie. I have come to use Magalie exclusively because every time I visit Dianna Effner’s site, they are not open for orders and I can always put my name on Magalie’s wait list. I haven’t been able to order another from Geri or one at all from Dianna. But Magalie does beautiful work and she includes an adorable outfit with her dolls so I’m good to go.
Glad you had a wonderful anniversary. Sounds like a lot of fun. David and I used to go to a B&B in Bellville, a few miles north of here, for our anniversary for several years. It was turn of the (last) century and they kept it true to the time. We always rented the suite with a beautiful canopy bed and a sitting room and bath. This was the suite that would have been rented by the upper echelon when they were passing through the area. We would arrive on Friday evening, eat dinner in the Victorian pub and lunch the next day in the tearoom, all owned by the same people. Then we would walk the streets of Bellville checking out all the antique shops. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary and we were very disappointed when the people decided to sell the building. After a couple years and no one would purchase it as it was for the same use, they gave up and just sold to whoever wanted to buy, so it was split up and is nothing like it was. The B&B was done away with and most of the tenants are now just regular businesses. But it was a special time that will live on in memories.
Dear Barbara, I am delighted that you have a “family” of Little Darlings. Magalie is a wonderful artist.
Geri posted on our Little Darling site a few weeks ago that she was accepting orders and that the turn around time should be fairly quick. If you are interested, you can send her a direct email.
Let me know if I can help.
Dear Dorothy,
I always forget to check the Little Darling site even though I have access. In addition to the two Little Darlings and one on the way, I have two Bonekas. A Monday and Tuesday’s Child. And I have my three Heartstrings also by Dianna Effner so I really need to check in with the LD site more often. Thanks for the information on Geri.
If I was Kaye I would surely want you to have her too. Love this story☺️ What doll artist wouldn’t want a doll lover who really appreciated Your work not to have her!? She seems like a wonderful person. Similar to Helen Kish….she appreciates the people who love her dolls too and is the sweetest person!
Now I will appreciate Nyssa even more and yes she needs to have several of your dresses just for her!
Finally able to write without problems! I get my email fine, but when I have to get on Safari, which your comments for the blog are, my iPad won’t work right, and I keep getting cut off! I am now on the desktop, so it should work!
That was very interesting about how you cam to acquire Nyssa, Jeanne! I cannot imagine how awful that would have gone if you had paid over a thousand dollars, and then got ripped off! One really has to be careful now, for sure! So that’s why you treasure her, and it’s a good enough reason! Do you have any idea how many other readers of your blog have a Nyssa? Are there any other dolls that she can share clothes with? Seems like an awfully small group that has her. It’s harder to sell what no one or very few people have.
I am still waiting on pins and needles to the answer to my question I asked the other day! How did you and George meet?
I’m glad you were able to get Nyssa because you wanted her so. I have to agree with Julia though, the dollar amounts are just staggering. Just curious, did she come with various eyes and wigs? I suppose it’s the exclusivity that makes them so pricey. I guess I should be very glad I’m not smitten by her and that AG’s and their items are still (mostly) in an affordable price range, though certainly not everything. I’m also not willing to pay for plastic items now when the old PC stuff is wood, glass, china, and felicity even has a silver plated sander. I love that little piece and a host of others.
Dear Jeanne, what a wonderful story! I love to hear “how dolls find their Mamas” stories.
I am glad too, as others have said, that you were diligent and did not send off money to someone who sounded shady. I hope someone was able to expose her scam. I have had a similar situation and it really is hard to know what to do.
It is always great to purchase a doll directly from the doll maker. That makes the doll so much more cherished.